37 keyboards, if we average them at $100, which is low balling since I'm ignoring keycaps, it'd be $3700. Averaging the keycaps at $50 would bring it up to $5550. Edit: Let me double the price of the keycaps since OP had to buy the extra kits, $100/keyboard and $100/keycap set would leave us at $7400

I have a legitimate question: what is the purpose of assembling multiple keyboards of the same layout? Do those keyboards end up serving a practical purpose, or do you mostly do it just for the enjoyment of the hobby?

Also, how do you store your keyboard collection when not in use? Leave sitting on a table? Display on shelf / cabinets?

Not sure about the 78g Zilents, but the bump on the 78g Zealios doesn't feel as sharp as the 67g Zealios or Zilents. I'm considering taking the springs from the latest batch of 78g Zealios I have and putting them into one of these boards to see if there shorter spring makes a difference though.

Once you get used to them, your accuracy and speed will go way up. One of the things I like the best is that instead of moving my fingers at a diagonal when going up or down rows, I only need to go directly forward or backward. Add in the fact that I use Dvorak, and it's a match made in heaven, as far as I'm concerned.

No, but that IS the first keeb I built. The boards that get the most fingertime currently are my Atreus62 boards. The carbon Atreus62 is my daily driver at work, and the Chocolatier board gets most of the use at home currently. Most of the time though, I tend to use either a planck or split planck.

Thanks! I had a lot of fun building it. I'm still trying to find a layout I really like. I could see it becoming a travel board if I could work out a layout that works for me. But I will say that it sounds really nice!

Two boards using Matias Quiet Clicks: the Nyquist and the Yellow/Gray Planck. I have an ALPS64 board waiting for me to finish trimming down my AEKii plate and clean the AEKii caps, and assemble with MQC switches.

Honestly? If you have room on your workspace, I'd highly recommend a Kinesis Advantage. If you want one of the flat boards pictured here, I highly recommend the Atreus62. If cost is an issue, go with a Let's Split or an EoTW Planck

It's difficult to make a short comparison here. I love the let's split boards because they're much more compact and I don't need to move my fingers so far to reach the numbers, but the Atreus is easier since I don't need to use a layer to get to the numbers. I like the Atreus62 over the Iris since that bottom row does a lot for me, and with the standard layout of the Iris, I'm really missing the nav keys and the mods. Finally, coming from a Kinesis contoured keyboard background, having the thumb keys on the Atreus works so much better for me because I can have a dedicated enter and CMD key. :-)

Gateron and Kailh make some good switches. I'm actually quite fond of any of the Burnt Orange heavy switches that you can find on novelkeys.xyz, particularly the Speed Heavy Burnt Orange since they're stiff enough to discourage bottoming-out, even though I do anyway. But they feel wonderful. The standard Kailh switches are only $0.25 per switch, so you could do an entire 60% board for all of $15 worth of switches, or a Planck for only $12.50 worth of switches.

I do switch them out from time to time. I've pretty much settled on the Carbon SA Atreus62 as my daily driver at work, but even then I still like to play with a different board from time to time. At home, I've been known to switch between up to three different keyboards in a night while at my desk, but usually I'l settle on one or the other for an evening.

True story: I used to switch keyboards every day at work, but it got to be so much of a distraction for me and the end users I help, that I got written up. They've asked me to pick just one and be done with it, so that's why the Atreus62 has become the daily driver.

Yeah, after the one I brought from home was drowned to death over a 3-day holiday weekend. I did end up reviving the drowned board thanks to a Stapelberg controller and a switch swap! But I've had several companies purchase boards for me. (and then let me take them with me when the job ended...)

Of those that I've used so far? I'd have to say the 67g Zealios/Zilents, Dvorak, and Sculpted SA. If you mean keyboard configuration? I'm gonna have to go with a split 4x12 or 5x12 configuration – preferably with at least one extra key for the thumbs. It if were currently in working condition, that Atreus50 would be the perfect board for me.

Which split keyboard would you recommend to a newbie? Which one "fits most people" in your opinion?

I had a typematrix before and I was unhappy because I felt uncomfortable. I have small hands and I am lazy as fuck. I would never solder myself. I'm from Europe, buying a keyboard is pretty hard and I am not gonna send it back. I write fluently on a German, US or Dvorak layout. And I'm a programmer, I will use it everyday for hours.

And obviously I'm already infected with your addiction of mechanical keyboards :( . First world problems...

Honestly, my favorite is and will always be the Kinesis Advantage. But if you're looking to spend less money, see if somebody's selling a Let's Split or a Nyquist. You'll have the benefit of ortho, and the ability to place each half wherever you want.

Both of the KLP boards were obtained for less than $100 total cost. If you can get by with the cheap $20 pbt keysets from Amazon or AliExpress, the Let's Split or Levinson boards can also be built for under $100.

Membrane keyboard. Feels like shit, but I can't use staggered layout keys and I haven't found anything mechanical besides the astronomically priced ergodox that looks like it would replace it properly. Pm me for how much you're willing to part with it for. It would be my first mechanical keyboard, and it looks like a good one with those small bezels around the keys, maybe to facilitate either vertical stacking/layouts along with horizontal. Maybe I could put some Velcro on the sides if it doesn't have a locking mechanism already. Lol =)